Report shows farmers doing their part in restoring Chesapeake Bay

What is in this article?:

• The report, part of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) estimates that since 2006, conservation practices applied by farmers and landowners are reducing nitrogen leaving fields by 48.6 million pounds each year, or 26 percent, and reducing phosphorus by 7.1 million pounds, or 46 percent.

A record number of voluntary conservation practices adopted by Chesapeake Bay farmers since 2006 have significantly reduced the amount of nitrogen, sediment and phosphorus leaving cultivated croplands, according to a new report released Dec. 5.

The report, part of USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) estimates that since 2006, conservation practices applied by farmers and landowners are reducing nitrogen leaving fields by 48.6 million pounds each year, or 26 percent, and reducing phosphorus by 7.1 million pounds, or 46 percent.

The report notes these practices have also lowered the estimated average edge-of-field losses of sediment, or eroded soil, by about 15.1 million tons a year, or 60 percent — enough soil to fill 150,000 railcars stretching more than 1,700 miles.

The majority of the conservation practices in the Chesapeake Bay were made possible through farm bill conservation programs, which are now expired.

"This report demonstrates that voluntary conservation practices made possible through the farm bill can have a substantial impact on limiting nutrient and sediment runoff from farms in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and across the nation," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. "These conservation efforts help to clean our soil and water, boost outdoor recreation that adds more than $640 billion to our economy, and ensure that agriculture has the tools to remain productive in the years to come.

“The good work of Chesapeake Bay landowners has generated substantial progress in a short period of time, but more needs to be done — which is why it is critical Congress acts now to pass a farm bill that provides the full array of programs and incentives to build on these efforts."